cooking her way into the heart of her Baba

Macaron lah: (Almost) perfect…

So I planted a rosemary hedge over the weekend.
I already have one small bush, which is slowly getting kojak-ed by excessive use — rosemary potatoes are my fave, if you must know — and thought that a hedge might be a good long term investment.

Note we had to fence it up because the Dog insists on burying everything in there.

I also thought that it’s high time I posted the pictures from Day 5 & 6 of Project Macaron lah.

So, I was thinking to myself (after Day 4) that my macaron technique can’t be that bad
— something else had to be wrong as well —Spoken like a true bad carpenter.

And I’d read — from more than one reliable source — that Italian meringue macarons were comparatively easier than their French counterparts;NOTE: French meringues incorporate granulated sugar whereas Italian meringues employ boiling sugar syrup to help cook the egg proteins and hold the shape; it is therefore almost impossible to over beat.AND I have a (relatively) easy Pierre Hermé recipe for rosemacarons;
so I thought: What the heck?

And the results were amazing!

Still having problems controlling the size, and spacing, of my macarons.Most of my shells average 3-4 cm in diameter.Tracing the circles didn’t help much either— was never good with colouring books…

What happens if you pipe them too close together.Macaron conjugation:if only it were that easy…

Nice legs!Need to work on the pudgy deformed body though.Note to self as well.

As you can see, the pied from this recipe, was breathtakingly stunning — and this was on the first try!

Day 4Some of the shells were burnt — yes, Monsieur Hermé’s recipe is (almost) impossible to crack — as you can see from the tanned shells.Ganache was also wee bit runny.

Day 5Shells were slightly better, and more uniformed in size and shape.Managed to keep the ganache firm for like 5-10 minutes before it started running all over the place again.Am beginning to the weather is more to be blamed and not my technique.

Macarons à la rose de Pierre Hermé

No, I didn’t run out of rose white ganache,wanted to try a dark chocolate ganache filling for contrast.And IMHO, it works better.

Verdict?
I won’t be going back to French meringue any time soon.
The results I got with Italian meringue were waaaaaaaaaay too impressive.The Baba almost fainted thinking I’d gone out and bought three dozen macarons. 🙂

But I will admit, the shells are lighter and fluffier with the French method,
which has always been the reason why I prefer Ladurée macarons to the ones from Pierre Hermé —

But no matter, we can work on that.

I will be taking a break from macaron baking for awhile though,and concentrate on another French pastry… 😉

About The NyonyaCelup

The NyonyaCelup is a 70s soul stuck in the new millennium.
Her dreams are dressed immaculately in LBDs and 2.55s;
meandering aimlessly in a pair of mile high Manolos;
with an occasional whiff of No. 5 in the air;
scored in Motown and shot in glorious Technicolor.

Disclaimer

The NyonyaCelup did not study about food safety or technology. She has never attended culinary school let alone a proper cooking lesson. As such, all recipes & food advice here should be taken with a pinch of salt and the reader's common sense. She cannot be held responsible for any untoward incidences as a result of following them. Though, for the record, both she and the Baba are still, very much, alive.